Health
1,541 New COVID-19 Cases in Illinois, 1 Additional Death
Beaches in Chicago are still closed, but cyclists, runners and walkers can hit the Lakefront Trail — including this newly reopened stretch downtown — provided they stay in motion. (WTTW News)
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Sunday reported 1,541 new cases of the coronavirus and 1 death in a 24-hour period since Saturday, bringing statewide totals to 171,424 cases and 7,398 deaths since the virus was first detected in Illinois six months ago.
It’s the fifth consecutive day in which the state saw an increase of more than 1,000 new cases.
On Saturday, 1,426 new cases and 12 deaths were reported by the IDPH.
More than 28,000 people in Illinois have so far been diagnosed with COVID-19 in July, surpassing the June total (22,925) but coming nowhere close to the number of people who tested positive for the virus in May (67,342). April saw the second-highest number of infections to date (46,924), while fewer than 6,000 people were diagnosed in March (5,991).
Because of the recent uptick in cases, Chicago bars that do not have retail food licenses are no longer able to serve customers indoors. Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the rollback Monday. It took effect Friday.
Also this week, Lightfoot expanded the city’s quarantine order. Visitors from Kansas are now required to quarantine for two weeks in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. There are 17 other states on the list. Each has an infection rate greater than 15 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 resident population, per day, over a seven-day rolling average.
A single death linked to COVID-19 was reported Sunday: a man in his 90s in Bond County.
Among the dozen people whose deaths were reported Saturday, half were in Cook County, according to the IDPH. Another six deaths were reported in Boone, Cumberland, DuPage, Kane, Lake and St. Clair counties. The youngest among them was a woman her 30s; the oldest was a woman over 100 years old. In all, 10 women and two men died, according to the IDPH.
Since the virus was first reported in Illinois, a slightly higher percentage of men (54%) than women (46%) have died after being diagnosed with COVID-19, according to IDPH data.
The seven-day positivity rate in Illinois is 3.7%, the IDPH reports.
Note: This story was originally published Saturday. It has been updated to reflect new COVID-19 figures released Sunday by the IDPH.
